Well I can't resist another photograph of one of these little beauties which gave me excellent views down to a few metres at Heysham Harbour. I was so delighted at the sight of this Firecrest that someone who joined me to watch this bird couldn't have helped but notice my unashamed excitement, the bird was reported still showing at 4.05pm in the afternoon. An adult Mediterranean Gull followed the ferry into the harbour.

Later a quick - by usual standards - look in at Conder Green was rewarded by an all time best count of 17 Little Grebe on Conder Pool, I actually think there may be eighteen present but gave in after counting them five times between their dives. A Little Egret and 2 Wigeon were also noted on the pool, with the Common Sandpiper and up to 120 Teal in the creeks.

Whilst at Heysham Harbour yesterday I realised I'd seen no reports to date of the Twite returning here yet this winter, the past two years they had returned on 9 October 2011 - the same date twenty returned to Cant Clough Reservoir this year - and 10 October 2012, so almost three weeks late. Forty Twite were at Fleetwood Marsh yesterday.And finally....

Monday, 28 October 2013

One or two Pallid Swift have been seen in the country including in Norfolk and other east coast locations, with more than one bird seen on the south coast in Kent.

Pallid Swift. Marc Heath.

The Pallid Swift is so closely similar to the Common Swift that it mitigates against its discovery, and an individual found in Cleveland has caused some discussion about its ID. But if you use the link below to see the discussion, be warned it was six pages long last time I viewed it but very interesting HERE

Considering the species is locally common in the Mediterranean, and breeds as close as southern France it is remarkably rare here. An interesting historical fact about the Pallid Swift is that the first record for the UK lay in a museum for 77 years after being collected at St John's Point in Co Down, Ireland in 1913, before being positively identified in 1990. The first record for Britain was at Stodmarsh, Kent in 1978.

Pallid Swift. Marc Heath.

Thanks to Marc Heathfor his excellent images of the Pallid Swift he saw at Foreness in Kent, in particular the lower image which shows the bird about to take an insect....Amazing Marc and many thanks.

Nearer home....

White-fronted Goose.Copy Permitted.

An amazing 17 White-fronted Geese - an unprecedented record - were found at Cockersands yesterday in a field at Abbey Farm. Struggling to find a photograph of adult birds, the one above is of a juvenile at Eagland Hill on 17 October....Beware of what you may think is a Greylag in the middle of 10,000 Pink-footed Geese perhaps!

And a little gem the Firecrest was found on the South Harbour Wall at Heysham yesterday too, and was still there mid-afternoon today. And these records are topped by a Black Redstart at Heysham Harbour today, and one on the sea defences at Heysham near Grosvenor Road yesterday. So who was it said birding the west coast will never be birding the east coast. Well maybe it won't ever be....quite!!

Saturday, 26 October 2013

I waited six days to get back out birding again on Thursday....but was it worth the wait. It was a day of two halves as I had to have a break at noon to meet an appointment in Lancaster, after which came birding part two. But the 'buzz' never came, though the day was excellent weatherwise given it was 24 October and Cockersands was pure magic....so why the whinge!

At Conder Green the Common Sandpiper appears to have settled in for the winter and showed in the creeks, apart from a lone Snipe it was the only bird I noted in the creeks, two skeins of 30/90 Pink-footed Geese went over south. I was my intention to visit Conder Pool later in the day but I ran out of time, so shock of shocks missed the pool altogether. Thanks to Antonio for the excellent Common Sandpiper.

I decided the healthy thing was to leg it to Glasson Dock from Conder Green to see 42 Goldfinch, and whilst checking the Lune Estuary from a few viewpoints along the coastal path I noted at least 300 Common Gull to be the dominant of the gulls today, an adult Mediterranean Gull was excellent as ever and though distant appeared to have a metal ring on its right leg though I saw no sign of any other marks on the left leg from several angles. Other estimates in the book, 680 Golden Plover, 110 Bar-tailed Godwit, 55 Dunlin, a count of 4 Goosander, and aLittle Egret, on the Marina I noted up to 50 Tufted Duck.

Cockersands Lighthouse Off Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

The ship having past the Cockersands lighthouse is as big - 'clik the pik' - as they come for Glasson Dock, a small port just around the river bend upstream from where I'm standing on Plover Scar when I got back to my birding after the return from Lancaster at high tide to find, 420 Oystercatcher, 70 Turnstone, 7 Dunlin, and 5 Redshank. A Kestrel inland was a welcome sight as wherever I go I'm not seeing many these days, also 10 Tree Sparrow and 2 Skylark to note. I had five butterfly sightings of 3 Red Admiraland two brief and distant which escaped ID.

I note a record of 16 Little Grebe seen at Conder Green last Sunday 20 October, this equals that of the same number I saw here on 18 October 2010 and the best count to date. I know of no other location in our recording area where so many Little Grebe congregate. Thanks to Phillip for the Little Grebe, not seasonal with the adult in breeding plumage and the young one having a lift, but a brilliant image.

Spotted Redshank. Geoff Gradwell.

I've seen no Spotted Redshank at Conder Green since 15 October, but I note one recorded here on Thursday, both this and the Common Sandpiper have wintered here in recent consecutive years and are almost certain to do so again this winter. Thanks to Geoff for the excellent winter plumage adult Spotted Redshank.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

There's some excellent news that the discharge of high-viscosity polyisobutylene (PIB) from ships during tank cleaning operations is to be banned. The classification of high-viscosity PIB's is to be changed to require full tank pre-wash and disposal of all residues at port and prohibit any discharge at sea.PIB was the chemical responsible for the deaths of over 4,000 seabirds on the south-west coast earlier this year, and thousands of people were shocked to hear about the worst marine pollution incident since the Torrey Canyon in the spring of 1967 when this was the worlds worst oil spill, and to date remains the UK's worst.

Of the 4,000 seabirds between February and April this year, most of the 18 species involved were Guillemot washed up on beaches from Cornwall to Dorset, most were dead, but some were alive and taken into care. The same substance of PIB was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of seabirds off the Dutch coast in 2010. And now for something much lighter and much more colourful, though they're both 'black'....

The Black-eared Wheatear forms a species pair with the Pied Wheatear, and some individuals are inseparable. In spite of the fact that it breeds as close to Britain as southern France the Black-eared Wheatear is surprisingly rare here. A brilliant image of this bird....Thank You Ana.

A passage migrant and summer breeder, the Black Redstart was added to the British List when it was first recorded near London in 1829. Thanks for the excellent image of these youngsters Noushka. Photography at its best, as every one posted on Birds2blog testifies, you only have to 'clik the pik' to see why....But none of 'em are ever mine!

A Pallid Swift or Common Swift reported Wednesday from the Public Hide at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve at 1.40pm. Thanks to the RBA pager service for this information.

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

On Friday last week Lapland Bunting were found at Cockersands which were laterthe cause of a brief discussion on a birding website I visit daily about the conduct of someone trampling through the stubble field in order to flush and get a more accurate 'picture' of the bird/s. Obviously there were those in defence of the action and those against it in the discussion. But my post isn't about whether or not 'burning the stubble' is good or bad, right or wrong, but is to highlight something I witnessed on the very same day two fields away from the Lapland Bunting/s and which went unnoticed by the entire world and was far more damaging to wildlife than trampling in a field for a small bird.

I've seen this car - and others - parked up at Cockersands before, and as a consequence knew what was going on. Someone was in a ditch hidden from view and from the birds he was out to kill, I'm never surprised at the lengths these people will go to but this one was a first for me. This guy had placed three dummy Wood Pigeons well spaced out, I can only assume the dummies were fitted with a mechanical device, or perhaps filled with helium, they were rising and falling to create the impression of birds taking off and coming down in order to get the real thing to follow suit. In this instance if you're a Wood Pigeon these people are dangerously crazed and have warped minds, in my view they are at the other end of the spectrum of what's right and what's wrong when it comes to the welfare of our wildlife. No amount of trampling through a stubble field to find a bird can ever be regarded as a danger to the welfare of wildlife, unlike the 'sportsman' I watched for a few minutes who gets his kicks from blasting birds out the sky as a form of enjoyment....he killed a few Wood Pigeons whilst I was in the area. Meanwhile, the person two fields away looking for a small bird failed to do so on several occasions that I personally know of, and when he was successful simply put the bird to flight. I think there are issues for and against 'bush bashing' and 'stubble burning' when it comes to searching for birds, though not exactly life threatening like the actions of the guy from the Dark Ages.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....But no serious chance of doing so at the moment I'm afraid.

Sunday, 20 October 2013

At 9.53am on Friday morning just as I was about to leave the house I received a text message to tell me of 3 Lapland Bunting at Cockersands. The first person I saw at Cockersands was my informant, soon followed by the farmer complete with tractor and slurry tank in the very field the birds were in, I decided to continue with my plan to visit Plover Scar at high tide. Some decision that was, it held 3 Oystercatcher and a Wheatear, it doesn't get any worse than this....does it?

It was a lovely sight to see 29 Whopper Swan had pitched up in one of the Abbey Farm fields, the party included five juvenile. An hour later eleven Whooper Swan dropped into the field adjacent to Bank House Cottage, I assumed part of the earlier twenty nine, but they had gone thirty minutes later. Another hour later 41 Whooper Swan flew south west and landed on Cockerham Marsh, this group obviously included the initial twenty nine as the field at Abbey Farm where they had been seen was deserted by the time I got back there.

Other birds to note during a four hour stretch at Cockersands, for not much reward to be honest, c.80 Dunlin, 2 Grey Plover, 15 Eider, 5 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Great-crested Grebe - now there's a surprise - a Snipe, 4 Greenfinch, and a 'few' Tree Sparrow, 35 Pink-footed Geese came in off the sea and flew inland.

The Lapland Bunting/s had apparently showed again just the once at 1.00pm - in my absence of course - so I suppose this is called a sort of....dip, dip, dip!And finally....

Friday, 18 October 2013

On Tuesday I saw a Great-crested Grebe (GCG) floating downstream on the River Lune on the ebbing tide at Glasson Dock. This bird reminded me that I had been thinking recently how long it has been since I last saw a GCG. The LDBWS Annual Report for 2012 and two other annual reports I've been reading all refer to the GCGin similar words as 'a scarce resident breeder and common winter visitor'. I've seen one of the breeding pairs this year with two young from the Public Hide at Leighton Moss, but wintering GCG according to my records and void of searching others, are becoming less common and I'm not seeing them where I used to regularly.

Oakes made little reference to the winter distribution of the GCG, but it was clear by the 1960's that large numbers were sometimes present throughout the Lancashire coast, the species benefited from the creation of reservoirs and gravel pits in the 20th century. But by the mid 1800's GCG were persecuted for their plumage in the millinery trade and for making feathered muffs, the population plummeted to an estimated 42 pairs nationally. In 1962 an amazing count of 500 individuals was made on one day in November off Morecambe. Historically Morecambe/Heysham have held nationally important numbers, in 2003 an estimate of British wintering GCG stood at almost 16,000 birds, nothing like that figure today and with a decline to some degree.And here's another member of the same family....

A Black-necked Grebe, not quite as smart as the adult above, this was a juvenile which I found on the excellent Conder Pool on 1 September 2008, the bird stayed on the pool until last seen 17 days later on 18 September.And finally, not a member of the same family, but couldn't resist it....

Collared Pratincole. Gyorgy Szimuly.

A brilliant image of the Collared Pratincole near breeding grounds in Romania May 2006 and featured on the front cover of the latest bulletin I recieved from International Wader Study Group

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

....south west actually to Pilling, and not a lot of pen and paper needed either.

Pink-footed Geese. Brian Rafferty.

I've been threatening to go south the past few times I've been out birding, yesterday I carried out the threat and an estimate of 10,000 Pink-footed Geese on Pilling Marsh were the first real number for me this year, as were my first 11 Whopper Swan which included a juvenile, also 6 Barnacle Geese and 6 Little Egret, a Peregrine Falcon was squat out on the marsh quietly surveying and planning its next move.

Lapwing. Brian Rafferty.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, c.750 Golden Plover was another best count this back end of the year, and I should try to be a 'real birder' now and again and concentrate on coming up with some figures for the Lapwing here sometime, they were in huge number again today. Also noted, c.120 Dunlin, a Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, a solitary Bar-tailed Godwit, Great-crested Grebe, and 2 Little Egret. I spent relatively little time at Conder Green but got another increase in the count of 12 Little Grebe on Conder Pool, with 2 Spotted Redshank and a Little Egretin the creeks. Thanks to Brian Raffertyfor the 'Going To Roost' PFG - definitely a must 'clik the pik' this one - and for the Lapwing.And finally, perhaps a few more words about this one on Birds2blog sometime, meanwhile....

The RSPB has teamed up with a green energy company and submitted a planning application for a wind turbine to be erected at their Sandy headquarters in Bedfordshire.

Monday, 14 October 2013

No birding since Thursday, maybe tomorrow, after which not looking good again for me....life can be such a bitch!

But a stroll with KT through the woodland areas of Williamson Park yesterday produced my first Redwing with a 'few' mainly hidden from view in the thick on the Yew berries. Also at least 2 Song Thrush which were a more welcome sight than the former thrush having the distinction of being on the RedList, with 3 Jay, 2 Treecreeper, and Blackbird noted. The Long-tailed Blue.

Long-tailed Blue. Marc Heath.

A rare migrant from Europe, the Long-tailed Bluebutterfly - male above - has bred at several sites along the south coast of England this year raising the hope that the species may be attempting to colonise southern England.

Long-tailed Blue. Marc Heath.

Having arrived on the south coast in August this year, the first home grown young recently emerged. The Long-tailed Blue - female above - has bred in the UK occasionally before but never over such an area as this year.

Clifden Nonpareil. Paul Harris.

Some impressive looking moths are also believed to be colonising the UK with sightings of the brilliant Clifden Nonpareil Catocala fraxini in the south of England. This moth is the largest and most magnificent of all the underwing moths, a group having vivid underwing flashes, this one boasts a striking blue wing flash.Many thanks to Marc Heathand Paul Harris atUK Mothsfor three excellent 'clik the pik' images.

Saturday, 12 October 2013

With sunny spells and a cold wind Thursday was a pleasant day that had me doing a bit of extra leg work in areas which were little more than void of birds at times.

Red-breasted Merganser. Howard Stockdale.

I started at Conder Green - well there's a surprise - where I could only count 8 Little Grebe on Conder Pool, with 5 Wigeon noted. In the creeks, a Spotted Redshank, Little Egret, up to 100 Teal, and a Grey Wagtail. I decided to leg it to Glasson Dock from here along the coastal path to see c.40 Goldfinch along the way and find the Lune Estuary even more void than void with barely a 'gull' in sight and few waders, I struggled to find 3 Red-breasted Merganser of note, and 2 Little Egret. From Bodie Hill a surprise was in the form of a Goldeneye - the 'summer' Conder Green bird I wonder - I counted c.120 Wigeon and another Little Egret.

At Cockersands where the wind was pretty seriously cold for the 10 October, I went little further than Plover Scar where I eventually found a Curlew Sandpiper with c.80 Turnstone and barely a double figure count of Dunlin and Redshank at high tide, a Rock Pipit was accompanied by a Meadow Pipit for comparison, and I saw yet another Little Egret.The Redwings are here....

Thursday, 10 October 2013

....and yet another excuse for a gap filler between my birding days.The DEFRA minister and Britain's richest MPRichard Benyon - best remembered for his role in sanctioning a 'Buzzard Management’ trial in 2012 - has been booted out in the Government reshuffle. Wildlife can't be anything other than better off without this guy, question is what's the one taking over from him - George Eustice -like when it comes to wildlife issues. Mr R.B now becomes a back bencher, presumably with more time to pursue his blood sport interests on his grouse moor in Scotland, and his pheasant shoot estate in the south....bye, bye DICK.

Twite. Christer Sundstrom.

The winter Twite have arrived and thanks to RBAtwenty were reported yesterday south of Burnley at Cant Clough Reservoir. I'm looking forward to seeing my first Twite of the winter at Cockersands perhaps, I've also seen the first report 17 of Whooper Swan at Martin Mere WWT.

Glossy Ibis. Howard Stockdale.

There's been something of an influx of Glossy Ibis recently with birds seen in our area. The image above shows three of the four birds present for almost two weeks at a location near Bolton, and are the result of a visit by Howard who kindly forwarded me a set of four of these brilliant birds.

If you'd like to be in on the Red Deer rutting season, your best bet is the Grisedale Hide at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve at Silverdale in Lancashire, homebase for this years filming of the BBC Autumn Watch later this month to be broadcast in November....be there!

Many thanks to BR for one of his excellent set of images of the stag the Red Deer seen last week from the aforementioned hide at LM.

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

I got to Cockersands yesterdayat just about high tide, but as it turned out timing had no effect on sightings which were low. Plover Scar held a good count of at least 100 Turnstone, a brilliant wader both on the ground and beautifully marked in flight as this image clearly shows. Thanks for this Martin, a brilliant in flight shot of the Turnstone.

Wheatear. David Cookson.

I found just one Wheatear at Cockersands today, one of the most conspicuous and longest stayers of all our summer visitors on passage both in spring and autumn, the earliest ever record in Lancashire was of a Wheatear found on 26 February, and the latest record was of one seen on 27 November. A 'few' Snipe came up off the marshes in ones and twos pushed off by the high tide, c.30 Linnet, 8 Skylark, and a Kestrel.

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock appeared unremarkable from where I viewed from the bowling green, though had a Peregrine Falcon on a post distant on Colloway Marsh took to the wing, I reckon the number of waders put to flight by this flying machine would have transformed it all into something quite remarkable and changed the few waders I could see into a few thousand I couldn't see. A Spotted Redshank, c.450 Golden Plover, and a Little Egret were also noted.

At Conder Green, a Spotted Redshank, c.75 Teal, 40 Mallard, 2 Snipe, and 2 Redshank were in the creeks with a Sparrowhawk over the marsh. A Common Sandpiper and 11 Little Grebe were on Conder Pool. If you like a challenge try counting the Little Grebe on Conder Pool, up and down like yoyo's when they're feeding on the huge supply of small fry which they catch by the hundreds during their visits to Conder Pool. And finally....

Whooper Swans. David Cookson.

The Whooper Swans are coming....but where are they, they're late.Thanks to David Cooksonfor the excellent Wheatear and Whooper Swan images.

The Red-backed Shrike (RBS) bred successfully on Dartmoor in Devon this year, the only pair of 'butcher birds' to do so in the UK having returned here for the fourth time. The RBS was driven to extinction in the UK at the end of the last century, and egg collecting remains a threat, but these birds successfully bred, got two young to fledging, and is excellent conservation news. I was going to do a piece on the RBS but after a search through the archives found I have already done one HERE

Sometimes called the Steppe Shrike the first record of the species in Britain was only 57 years ago, it was found on Fair Isle, Shetland in 1956, the bird was seen as a 'pale shrike' by two observers, it avoided the mist-nets already in place in the area, but was eventually forced into a Heligoland trap by the mobbing Starlings where positive ID was achieved.

Thanks to John and Ana for the excellent photographs of these two birds.

Saturday, 5 October 2013

....this is getting silly!I spent four hours at Cockersands yesterday, coastal but mainly inland, overcast, damp, often with drizzle, and pretty dull all day. Again I had the Yellow-browed Warbler - or similar migrant - in mind and gave the immediate inland area a good going over, but no point in labouring the issue, in these conditions....this really ain't my cup of tea!

It was about an hour short of high tide at Plover Scar which was void of anything at all though 8 Ringed Plover dropped in and 4 Snipe went over just as I left and set off along the headland where I found 5 Wheatear. Scratching around inland I noted at least 500 Golden Plover come up out of a distant field along with a few hundred other birds before dropping back down again after the panic.

Up to 50 Collared Dove were an impressive count on the roof of a barn at Bank Houses and 3 Black-tailed Godwit were feeding in a ditch close by here, c.30 Linnet, a 'few' Tree Sparrow and a Dunnock seen. With the tide falling the Redshank and Dunlin numbers were beginning to build up and 4 Grey Plover represented an average count here rarely getting to a double figure at any time of the year at Cockersands, a Red-breasted Merganser and 13 Eider were offshore.

At Glasson Dock an adult Mediterranean Gull brightened up another quiet area, a Greenshank, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, and a Little Egret. The 19 Golden Plover count doesn't come much smaller at this section of the Lune Estuary.

Spotted Redshank. John Darbyshire.

At Conder Green, 3 Spotted Redshank were all adult, a Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, and a Snipe were in the creeks, whilst on Conder Pool I managed to get the count to 11 Little Grebe.Thanks to Warren/Simon/John for the excellent images in the post, and to Paul Foster for the brilliant new Pectoral Sandpiper header image.

Leighton Moss. Copy Permitted.

Visitors to Birds2blog may be interested in the following, copied from an e-mail in my inbox this morning.

I have been asked to contact wildlife bloggers to spread the news that Autumn Watch will be based at Leighton Moss this year. They will be filming from the 17th of October and the programme will be broadcast from the 28th to the 1st November. I don't think I need to tell you that they will be looking for interesting sightings and stories.

The Arnside and Silverdale AONB will have a hotline to the production crew so if you've got something interesting to report, please contact the Arnside and Silverdale AONB office on 01524 761034 info@arnsideandsilverdale.org.uk.